In a ruling damned as "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason" by Starbucks spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil , a superior court judge ruled yesterday that the coffee chain must pay back its California baristas over $100 million in back tips and interest that Starbucks paid to shift supervisors. Oops.

After complaining about shift supervisors dipping into the employee tip jar, former La Jolla Starbucks employee Jou Chou filed a lawsuit back in 2004. The, in 2006, it became a class-action lawsuit with more than 10,000 employees wanting back gratuity returned to them. When the ruling was announced yesterday, Chou said in a written statement:

"I feel vindicated...tips really help those receiving the lowest wages. I think Starbucks should pay shift supervisors higher wages instead of taking money from the tip pool."

And Chou is right. Starbucks illegally took money from the baristas to pay the shift supervisors in lieu of paying them themselves. The coffee house chain, known for its over-roasted taste, "made more than $672 million on revenue of $9.4 billion during its 2007 fiscal year."